


Fishing Ain’t Easy

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: Fishing, Fluff, M/M, Making Out, Mutual Pining, boat capsizing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 12:51:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15752022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Dale Cooper and Harry Truman decide to spend their Saturday morning fishing.





	Fishing Ain’t Easy

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching some episodes of twin peaks yesterday and by god do I love the whole fishing aesthetic

It all started when Cooper came into work wearing that vest. That ugly, pocket-covered fishing vest that he definitely bought at an outdoor supply store or an L.L. Bean. He looked like a dork. A cute dork, though Harry never would have mentioned it. It was so odd, to see the normally immaculately-dressed Agent wearing a flannel shirt and that abomination, so Harry had no choice but to ask him about it. 

“Go fishing a lot, Coop?” Harry asked, seeing Cooper walk into his office. 

“I like to, when I get the chance. Pete’s been taking me out in this boat of his. It’s fantastically relaxing. Just you, the rod, and the fish.”

“Where’d you get the jacket?”

“I bought it at the bait and tackle shop near the Black Lake. You like it?”

Harry had to keep himself from snorting. Instead, he nodded. “Yeah. It suits you.”

“I know it’s a little much, but I can fit so much in the pockets. I fit an entire sandwich in this one.” He patted the largest one on the right side of the vest. “I fill the rest with lures and extra line and whatnot.”

“Smart. We should go fishing sometime.”

That struck a chord with Cooper, and his face lit up. “Absolutely. Why not this Saturday? I’m still suspended, so I’ve got nothing to do except fish and try to prove myself innocent.”

The second half of that sentence felt much more important given the situation, but then again, Harry had almost jumped for joy when he found out that Cooper wouldn’t be leaving Twin Peaks just yet. He valued whatever time he had left with the man, before he was sent off to his next crime. They had grown close, in the quick month that the Palmer case had been, and the subsequent weeks. It was almost shocking in the way Harry’s affections grew towards Cooper. Before he had even realized what was happening, he was head over heels in love with him. 

Of course, there had already been rumors about them. Twin Peaks was a small town and gossip spreads like wildfire. Harry quickly shot the rumors down. As far as anyone in town knew, Harry was straight. And that was how it was going to stay, unless Cooper made the first move. Harry had no idea when or if that was going to happen. 

And he had nothing planned for Saturday beyond drinking alone, so this was an improvement in plans. “Sure. I can pick up some bait, show you my favorite spots. Though I have to tell you, I’m not nearly as good as Pete.”

“There’s nothing I would like more, Harry.”

Damnit. That sincere grin. That hand on his arm. That dorky fishing jacket. It took all of Harry’s self control not to sweep him up in a kiss right then and there. So naturally, his words came out in a far slower and more bumbling pace than usual. “Well, uh, the best fishing starts early, so we’ll have to be ready early. Five AM, probably.”

“Fine with me! I’ll meet you at that picnic table by the lake at five on Saturday.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, I should probably work on making sure I don’t get arrested.”

“That may be important.”

—————

Saturday came, and Harry found himself nervous, though he had no reason to be. It wasn’t like they were on a date. They were just two coworkers using their time off to go fishing. Easy as that. 

But not quite as easy, when Dale Cooper shows up in that same damn vest. Harry feels his breath catch in his chest. Shit. Maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to this trip. This was going to be monumentally hard for him. 

“Morning, Harry!” Cooper said, through the early morning fog. Harry soon forgot any regrets he might have had. 

“Hi, Coop. I’ve borrowed Pete’s boat for the morning, so we’ll be fishing from that.”

“Excellent.” He held out one of two coffees. “Here’s a coffee for you. Energy for fighting the fish.”

Harry smiled. But he noticed something. A certain level of awkwardness had appeared between them. His own awkwardness was understandable. Cooper’s, however, was not. Maybe he was just up too early. Yes, that was probably it. “Thanks.”

“By the way, you can call me Dale. We’re not at work, and I already call you by your first name.”

“Fair point. I’ll try my best.”

“And that’s all you can do, my friend.” A moment of silence spread like a blanket of ambiguity. “Shall we fish?”

“Yes, definitely.”

Soon, they were off, in the dinghy which felt a little too small for the two tall men. Harry would have preferred a canoe, or a battleship. Anything so that their hands didn’t have to accidentally touch against each other when reaching for the tackle box. 

After an hour, it became excruciating. They had had a bit of luck with catching fish, but Harry was so distracted he often didn’t realize he had a bite until his fish was gone. 

The fog had begun to lift by this time, and the trees framed the lake beautifully. If there was one thing Twin Peaks had going for it, it was the scenery. 

“I do love those Douglas firs.” Cooper mused, his eyes travelling up the length of one. “If the Bureau doesn’t arrest me, but still fires me, I’m staying in Twin Peaks.”

There was a slim chance of that. Still, Harry desperately wanted that to happen. “Well, you can always bunk with me if you need a place to stay.” Red flags went up in his head, even though he knew he wasn’t crossing a line. “If the Great Northern no longer suits your tastes.”

“Thank you, Harry. I appreciate that.” 

“Do you have anyone back in D.C? Or anywhere else you’ve been?”

“Not really. Got no parents, no siblings, and no partner to speak of. Well, romantic partner, I mean. Twin Peaks is the first place I’ve made friends I want to keep.”

“Even the Log Lady?”

“Sure. No other town has one. Twin Peaks is truly unique.” 

Harry thought he noticed Cooper- no, Dale, staring at him out of the corner of his eye. But he passed it off as nothing. Perhaps his hair was out of place, or he had some dirt on his nose. Yes, that was probably it. “That it is, Dale.”

“Ah, see? You got it.” 

Harry didn’t realize how much he had leaned towards Dale until they were only a few inches apart. But Dale wasn’t pulling away. And Harry was going to ride this wave as far as he could. “Can I still call you Coop sometimes?” 

“Of course. You can call me whatever you’d like. I just wanted you to know that it was an option.” Dale seemed completely unfazed by their sudden lack of distance. 

Harry could feel Dale’s breath upon his lips. “That’s good. To know I have options.”

“Harry…” His voice became huskier, and one of his hands slowly crossed onto Harry’s thigh. 

Suddenly, a spark of fear crossed Dale’s face. “Harry, what’s that noise?”

That noise was the sound of a fishing reel from his rod unspooling at a rate far too fast for any normal fish. Harry quickly grabbed ahold of the rod and began reeling it in. But whatever fish had gotten a hold of it was strong, and pulled back. The boat began moving in the direction of the fish, and Harry’s entire concentration was focused on not letting go of that damn rod. 

“Harry!” Coop yelled. “The boat!”

Just a moment too late, Harry realized that the force of the fish was causing the boat to capsize. Harry found himself with a mouth full of grimy water, a lost rod, and his dignity gone with the fish. 

“Shit!” Harry exclaimed, as he swam to the boat, which was now upside-down. He tried to flip it, but it refused to budge. “I think we’re going to have to swim it back to shore.”

It took the two of them combined to push the boat to shore, flip it over, and bail the water out of it. By the end, Harry was exhausted, and he fell to the rocky shore of the beach, panting. 

“Hell of a fishing trip.” He muttered. 

“It’ll be a story to tell the rest of the team.” Date said, sitting down beside him. Dale’s hair was a mess, looser than Harry had ever seen it. It was a good look for him. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It kind of is. I got you distracted.”

He certainly did. But Harry wasn’t going to let Cooper take the blame. “I was the one who forgot to reel in the line before things started happening. Sloppy fishing protocol.”

“You’re right about sloppy.” He squeezed the water out of a chunk of his hair. “Are you going to tell Pete we nearly sunk his boat?”

“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

Dale smiled. “My lips are sealed.” 

They were nice lips. Lips that Harry really, really wanted to kiss right now. Bashfully, he looked down, and accidentally viewed the bulge in Dale’s pants. His eyes widened, and turned his view to the lake. Look at all that lake. 

Dale noticed that he saw, and quickly crossed his legs. Was he blushing? It looked as though he might be. “Sorry. Truth be told it’s from earlier, and it just never went away.”

“I’m telling you right now, boat sex is not as fun as it may seem.” Shit. Was that too much? “Though I don’t know if that’s quite what you had in mind.”

“It was one option, yes. But now that we’re on shore, we should probably address the more pressing issue.”

Harry frowned. “And what could that be?”

Dale grabbed Harry by the sopping wet collar and yanked him closer, their mouths colliding chaotically. He had clearly intended for it to be quick, but Harry had been waiting long enough for this. He wrapped one arm around Dale’s back and stuck the other in his hair, pulling him as close as he could. It was awkward, and wet, and cold, but Harry didn’t care. He was finally doing what he had wanted to do since he had met Cooper.

When Harry finally pulled away for air, he was surprised when Dale actually laughed. “Was it bad?”

Dale shook his head. “On the contrary. I’m just surprised at how quickly you took over. I was worried that you wouldn’t want to kiss in the first place.”

“Coop– Dale.” Harry smiled, twisting a lock of Dale’s hair between his fingers. “Why wouldn’t I want to kiss you?”

“You’re a private person, and this isn’t exactly a private place. Plus, romance is always a bit of a shaky territory for me. And it can get a bit awkward early on.”

“How long have you known that I had more interest in you than friendship?” He had to have known. Cooper could out-guess Sherlock Holmes any day. And Harry was never one to hide his longing glances very well. 

“I guessed about a week in. But we didn’t really know each other well then, and I had no idea how long the case would last. And you’ve never struck me as a one night stand kind of guy.”

“That’s true. But Dale,” Harry said, “what happens when you have to go back to DC? What happens then?”

“We don’t know that the Bureau will reinstate me.”

“They will.”

Dale stared past Harry towards the sun. “Then I’ll quit. I’m not leaving Twin Peaks. I’m not leaving you. Not now.”

“Don’t feel like you have to quit just because of me.”

“No, I want to.” Dale cupped a hand around Harry’s cheek. “I put in some good years with them, but it’s time to move on.”

“Only if you’re sure.”

“I am. Maybe the town will calm down now that the Palmer case is over.”

“I doubt it. Even without murder, Twin Peaks is always like this.”

“Good. I like it weird.”

“I know you do.” Harry smiled, and placed a quick kiss to Dale’s lips. “Now, we should probably get a move on. The sun may be up, but it’s still March. The weather doesn’t get past 40 until late April.”

“I was about to say, I’m pretty sure I’m frozen here.”

Without another word, Harry stood and lifted Dale up bridal style. “Jesus. What are you, 200 pounds of muscle?”

“Almost. Then again, that warrants the question of how strong you are.”

“Not strong enough to be doing this more than once, so savor the moment.”

“Oh, I most certainly will.” And that was nothing short of a promise.

**Author's Note:**

> Do they ever actually mention that they’re in love with each other? Apparently not! Is that an oversight? Maybe! Is it one am as I write this? Absolutely!


End file.
